The chief executive officer at St. Mary's Medical Center has stepped downs.

The following statement was issued by the hospital Wednesday afternoon:

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“Davide Carbone has resigned his position as the chief executive officer of St. Mary’s Medical Center. Joey Bulfin, chief operating officer, will be stepping in to serve as the interim CEO. We appreciate Davide’s dedication to both St. Mary’s and the Palm Beach community for the last nine years and wish him well in his future endeavors. The future at St. Mary’s Medical Center is bright. The hospital was recently recognized by Healthgrades as being in the top 5% of places to give birth in the country, we are growing our research program, and we have established a level 1 trauma center and lifesaving comprehensive stroke program for the residents of Palm Beach County and the surrounding areas. The more than 75-year tradition of excellence at St. Mary’s will continue through our exceptional team of employees and medical professionals.”

After months of controversy surrounding its Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery program, the hospital announced on Monday it was shutting the program down.

The program has come under fire since CNN aired a report claiming the program had a higher mortality rate than other similar programs at hospitals around the country.

St. Mary's officials have always vehemently denied the r.eport.

They announced the program was shutting down in a statement Monday:

“After much consideration, we have made the decision to permanently close our Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery Program. We are proud of the work that has been done and the lives that have been saved. This is the decision of the hospital and not based on a decision or recommendation by the State of Florida or any regulatory agency. The inaccurate media reports on our program have made it significantly more challenging to build sustainable volume in our program. At this time we feel it is best to focus on other services needed by our community. We are thankful to the families who have stood by our program and grateful for our dedicated staff. It is our top priority to provide our patients, their families, visitors and our community with the best possible service on a daily basis.”

Libby Locke, the attorney for the program's surgeon, Dr. Michael Black, released her own statement Monday evening:

“CNN’s reckless reporting has deprived the community of a vitally importantmedical program,” said Locke. “Dr. Blackhas retained our firm to prosecute defamation claims against CNN for the false anddamaging statement in their deeply flawed reports. We intend to hold CNN — andthe individual journalists involved in preparing these reports — fully accountable forthe inaccurate, misleading, and damaging claims.” The AHCA (the Florida Agencyfor Health Care Administration), the regulatory authority in Florida, has rejectedCNN’s reporting and slammed CNN for their 'sensationalized' journalism. Afellowship trained, board-certified surgeon with over 25-years of experience,Dr. Black is an innovative, accomplished and respected surgeon, and he is a leaderin the field. He remains a member in good standing on the medical staff atSt. Mary’s Hospital.

CNN's report said nine children died while receiving care at the program and a 10th was paralyzed.

The families of two of those children retained attorney Chris Searcy and filed lawsuits against the hospital.

Searcy expressed disbelief when he read the statement from St. Mary's.

"It says we are proud of the work that has been done," Searcy said. "I don't know how they can be proud of what happened to my clients."

Searcy said he's pleased the program has shut down but he wishes it had happened much sooner.

"They shouldn't do it at all," he said. "But why did it take three and a half, four years to realize that?"